Chapman coach Zach Wheatley is also a recent graduate of the university's MBA program. COURTESY

He's just 26 years old, but Zach Wheatley has held many titles: varsity basketball team captain; math tutor; Chapman University head golf coach; Chapman University assistant men's basketball coach.

And now he has relinquished one title — MBA student — for a different one: Zach Wheatley, MBA.

Wheatley — who also offers individual basketball coaching for kids — admits that he's had a full schedule. But the easygoing Costa Mesa resident has been able to take everything in stride, thanks to basketball.

"The biggest thing sports has given me is time management," said Wheatley. "I always did a better job in school when I was in full-swing basketball. I knew the jobs I had to get done, and I knew I couldn't mess around."

At 6 feet, 6 inches tall, it's no wonder Wheatley found his way into basketball (he started high school at 5 feet, 11 inches tall, he recalls). When he started considering colleges, a basketball program was only one consideration. In addition to b-ball opportunities, Chapman offered a business program, so the choice was pretty easy.

Wheatley ended up a math major at Chapman University, pursuing a subject in which he'd already had success (he took Advanced Placement calculus in high school).

Realizing he would have time enough to complete it, he later added a business minor.

Along with a strong academic drive, basketball has been a huge part of his life, both as a player and as a coach. Being able to work one-on-one with 'tween and teen players is a lot of fun — not only because the kids are so responsive, but because it's easy for Wheatley to see his success with them. "They don't have all the answers — and all the habits," he said with a grin. "You can really work with them and curtail them, and see the change in them over a short period of time."

Like his high school coach used to tell him, he now tells the players he coaches, "Don't be afraid to be great. Recognize what you need to work on."

Still, he recalls, his first year of assistant coaching at Chapman was "really, really tough."

"I still had that player instinct," he explained. "It's very hard to verbalize [what you want] instead of [saying], 'Hey, let me go out there and do it.' That doesn't work too well in a game."

Now, a few weeks into his new life as an MBA, Wheatley is considering his next step while continuing to coach Chapman golf and basketball and teach physical activity classes and, now, in the business school. (He starts with a summer school class in which his students will be covering two chapters every week.)

"Ultimately, I'd love to be a coach," he said, "but financially, I don't know if it's feasible."

With his strong Orange County roots, he adds, the idea of traipsing across the country to take available coaching positions is less appealing. But his love of coaching—"I never feel like I work," he said—makes the appeal undeniable.

"That teacher in me is kind of innate," he added, noting that both his parents work in education.

Before heading back to school to start Chapman's MBA program , Wheatley did the books for an Irvine tech company, working his way up to staff accountant. That yearlong experience made it very clear that an 8-5 desk job is not his ideal. A people-focused—rather than computer-focused—job would suit him better, as well as "something where I can be independent and make my own destiny."

"I'm going to take this year to really evaluate everything, and put some perspective on it so I can make a good goal—not a rushed decision," he says.

He's following the same advice he gives to his players. He's looking at his next task and considering what he needs to do to reach his goal. "Set little goals for yourself," he tells his players. "They add up to big successes."

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